Pit Stop

I just don't get Bieber Fever. Sign of ageing, perhaps? Maturing *snort* I'll take it. Love Taylor Swift though. Oh, and totally Anti-Miley.

My current obsession: football. Cesc Fabregas is genius.

Current sitcom that BOTH AK and I love - How I Met Your Mother. Current reality show I'm into - not Amazing Race, not Wipeout, NOT Jerseyshore or the Kardashians - Top Chef. And Criminal Minds has the most beautiful music.

Current read: Ghosts of Spain - Travels Through Its Silent Past by Giles Bennet. I don't have a very good record of reading non-fiction, factual books. I slogged through the last one (Bury Me Standing). But this one has me flipping and flipping in bed till my eyes water. The more I read about Spain (on Wikipedia mostly), the more I am fascinated by this "Nation of Nations", where different regions still cannot stand each other (Catalans and Basques call themselves Anti-Madrilistas), where football is the new "war" of the autonomies, but thanksfully this does not apply to team compositions, where Castillians and Asturians are as celebrated as the Catalans in Barcelona FC, the pride of Catalonia and a Basque plays for Real Madrid. Of course, this is how it should be but it fascinates me (football in general) how the sport crosses old borders and brings sworn enemies together. Spain is the only Western European country that not only retained is traditional folk dance/music - flamenco, and not only is it retained, it has flourished in both traditional and morphed versions.

Current trend I am sporting - Indian-style tunic tops, cosy cardigans (with ruffles - in black, open cardigans - in heather gray). Large rings I wear on my index finger.

Cookware Cravings

Saving up to be able to buy this double sided grill pan:

Gorgeous Armani Prive

Claire Danes in Venice. Love the fact that she's not wearing any accessories - the dress has shine aplenty, and the freshness of her hair and makeup.

More gorgeousness, worn by the radiant Anne Hathaway.

When can I have one???

She looks super thin here - her head almost looks too big for her shoulders, don't you think?

BUT - the dress is amazing.

Especially from the side. You do have to be super skinny to pull this dress off though, or else the waves might just emphasize the last bits you want emphasized - the tummy and the rear.

Check out those amazing Loboutins.

Courtyard Gardens

I love, love the concept of small gardens as close to living spaces as possible.

Creepear plants trailing down a shophouse courtyard wall. Skylight above.



In cramped balconies, plants hanging off an old clothes hanger.



Or hung along a sliding door.

Box planters filled with herbs. The planters are old wooden wine crates!

A little courtyard garden within a 70's-era flat.

Hanging blooms in an airwell - a gorgeous idea.

An garden within a little terrace house. It is possible! I imagine the exact same thing in my future home.

Photos are from the Singapore Home & Decor magazine.

The Swamps of Miri

Just a minute's drive from the office we work in, taken on a dreary, cloudy day that threatened to rain on us (and eventually did).

The road traverses a small patch wetlands. What you first see as you leave the office grounds is a squatter village - tin-roofed huts hovering precariously over the mud on uneven stilts. Children playing by the roadside, women walking down the road toward the bus stop nearer the office. A few minutes more and the ocean appears. A bit more - the expat village, old colonial-style single storey houses admist casuarina trees and winding cycling paths.

Locals fish and shrimp here in the swamps. And sell their catch too, along with watermelons, bananas and whatever else they grow on makeshift stalls lining the road.




A gnarly old tree that could be part of the set of Sleepy Hollow.

The stream empties into the rolling ocean beyond.

Brunch for One

Scrambled eggs the way I like it.

Minimal oil - just a few drops of oil in my nonstick, anduse a bit of paper towel to wipe the insides. making sure that the pan is coated with the thinnest slick of grease.

2 eggs, whisked with a fork. And I add these condiments: Maggie seasoning, soy sauce, a snipped up bird's eye chilli, and 3 cloves of garlic finely grated, a tablespoon or so of whole milk. Like I said, the way I like it - strong and spicaay.

Scramble till it's 90% done the way you like it, then grate in about two tablespoonfuls of parmesan cheese. Plate up and sprinkle with more than a generous twist of freshly ground black pepper.

Dessert: Apples, sliced and sprinkled with a pinch of cinnamon.

Cinnamon Flop

Reading about someone's affinity with Krispy Kreme doughnuts reminded of how much I miss a bit of sweet fluff in my mouth. I made this super-easy cinnamon flop insteadI will admit falls VERY SHORT of a bite of a classic glazed, but what to do.


Cinnamon is a flavour I love, but it does get a bit medicine-like when applied in larger doses, as I recently learnt (tingling tongue, slight loss of taste sensation).


Anyway, the recipe is a reduced version of the one here. I omitted the egg, as I wanted it doughy, not cakey.


1 cup all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat atta flour)
1/2 cup sugar (add in more for a sweeter taste)
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla or 1 -2 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 large egg (optional, I didn't use it)

TOPPING
1/4 cup brown sugar (can use more or less)
1 -2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 tbsp melted butter

Set oven to 17o degC.

Prepare your pan - I used a cupcake tin, greasing the insides with a little oil.

In a bowl mix the flour, white sugar, milk, vanilla or almond extract, baking powder, pinch of salt and egg (if using) until just combined. Careful not to overmix.

Pour into the prepared baking pan.

Generously spread brown sugar and cinnamon on top.

Drizzle melted butter over top.

Bake for 20 minutes.

Lime Semolina Brown Sugar Cake

Inspired by Nigel Slater's Lemon Almond cake in The Kitchen Diaries: A Year in My Kitchen, one of my all time favourite cookbooks. Essentially a food diary of sorts - sourcing, shopping, preparing, cooking and eating. Honest about his screw ups, at times boastful about his triumphs, and almost lyrical in a butch kind of way (less elegant than Nigella, I have to say) about the frangrance of chanterais melon, milkiness of white goats' cheese, etc etc, and the joys of shopping in London's Chinatown, middle eastern delis and farmers markets.

The original recipe calls for lemon and almonds. Nigel likes to use of almonds in his baking, I can't afford to. One good substitute I found was sugee, or semolina - it gives the crumbly texture and a additional sweet dimension to the cake. I also did away with the lemon slices and lemon syrup topping, as the result was sweet and moist enough for me. Instead I sprinkled the top of the cake with demerara sugar before popping it in the oven, for the added crunch. I am not sure if the result of what I made was what Nigel had in mind when he gave the recipe, but I am sure he'd appreciate my artistic license :).

Lime Semolina Brown Sugar Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened at room temperature

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup lime juice

1/3 cup semolina

2 eggs

1 cup flour, mixed with 1 tsp baking powder

Demerara sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 160 deg C.

Cream the butter and sugar until smooth and fluffy.

Add the eggs one by one, mix thoroughly before adding the next one.

Fold in the semolina first, then alternately fold in the flour+baking powder mixture and lime juice. Work the batter just enough to incorporate everything.

Decant into two mini loaf pans (that's what I used). Sprinkle the tops with demerara sugar before baking for 20-30 minutes.

Scary People On da Pitch - last fugly footballer post!

Half-watching Barcelona's 0-2 loss to Hercules in full HD.

Javier Mascherano scares me more than the villains on Criminal Minds.

He's the Captain of the Argentinian national team, and just recently boycotted his way out of Liverpool to Barcelona.

I did not really try to look for any photos of his playing in the recent Barca-Hercules game, so here he is in Liverpool colours.

He looks evil.

And here is his profile in the Pro Evolution Soccern computer game. I think he suits his defensive midfield tole - one look at his snarling face and strikers would go scurrying back to their own half.

And here is Mascherano's fellow Argentinian national team-mate, Carlos "The Beast" Tevez. Tevez plays on the opposite side of Mascherano - he's a striker.

If Arsenal needs a hairstylist, Spain NT needs a fashion stylist, then the Argentina NT needs an orthodontist.

Lo siento mucho, guys. All in good fun.

What Arsenal REALLY Needs

.....................is a HAIRstylist.


Seriously, with the exception of Theo Walcott and Cesc, the team is a big mess (and not a hot one, mind you).

Allow me to illustrate:

Bleach Blondes - some of the Gunners seem to have a real affinity with platinum peroxide bleach. Maybe the boys decided to share the bottle of bleach. You know, a guy thing - in the showers - Hey Manuel, watcha doin' there? Wow, your hair is like, gold now. Ooooh, lemme have some!

Seriously Manuel Almunia, you're a disgrace to Spain and all their (naturally) pretty boys!

And Bacary Sagna here decided that cornrows would be a cute way to show off his platinum locks.


Alex Song decided to channel an electrocuted sheep.

As you can see, Mr. Song is not afraid to experiment with his looks. Here is another one of his wildlife-inspired looks. Think he was going for a centre parting here. I think he meant to scare his opponents - you know, make him look bigger.

Very much like a frill-necked lizard, which also tries to use its looks to scare off potential attackers.

And some for goodness's sake, Arsene Wenger, please invest in some hairgel for...

Andrei Arshavin.


And ol' Shaggy here. Oops, he's not Arsenal but I can't help it. In addition to hairgel, we ought to throw in a tanning booth, maybe a trip to Ibiza? This guy looks like he is in serious need of some Vitamin D and sunshine.

And doesn't the club, sixth richest in Europe or something, pay Tomas Rosicky enough to get a half-decent haircut?

On the other hand, maybe just keep the gel away from this young wannabe right here. Marouane Chamakh obviously spends a lot of time perfecting this unicorn hairstyle. Maybe it's an aerodynamic thing, the taper at the back enables him to run faster, or somehow directs the air to flow around it and concentrate the air pressure on the ball he heads....oh, I can't do this. He looks like a damned llama or something.

LOL.

Break Update

So it's Saturday already, the second last day of the four-day holiday. I've been cooking and eating much more variety than my past spells of instant noodles, curried eggs with chapatthi and sambal tumis. My latest addiction - home baked fries. Peel and cut a potato into sixteen wedges, toss in a couple of drizzles of oil, add barbecue seasoning and sea salt. Bake at 240 degrees C for twenty minutes, or until the edges start turning brown - almost black. Eat immediately. And who else do I have to thank for this effortless recipe? The Domestic Goddess herself - who else, really?

I've also managed to catch the last half hour of the 2010/2011 Everton-Manchester United match - the best part where Man U strikers squandered their lead by being selfish and not passing when they could to their teammates in front of open goals - Berbetov and Nani - and giving up the chance to go 5-1 up (they were 3-1). Instead Everton scored two goals in the injury time and pulled a draw against the Red Devils. Superb (sorry, Pa).

I'm in the midst of Arsenal vs. Bolton now (Final result of the match, 4-1, it could have been 6-1 if damned Arshavin and Chamakh converted their chances after being put through by "Fabulous Fabregas"). I can see why Arsenal held on to Cesc Fabregas like a crazed lover - they would be nothing without the guy. A visonary passer, he really is the hinge between Arsenal's defense and attack. His passes cut through the opposing teams and find his targets (who often let him down - yes I'm talking about you Arshavin). He hardly puts a foot wrong. It's a case where the hype has been, well, true about someone, and who exudes elegance on the pitch and, unfortunately, is truly a class above his teammates (I mean, Chamakh, Almunia aren't exactly what you call reliable - why, you can almost see the uncertainty on their faces when they play) Pity about the 4-1 drubbing by Argentina of the La Furia Roja at which he was at the helm of - but he is well and truly the (bright) future of Spain and their footballing reign. And of course, it does help that he looks damn good doing all of it. Love his Maori tattoo.

Relax, this ain't Cesc.

Introducing............Bolton's new (3rd choice I think) Hungarian goalkeeper, Adam Bogdan. Guess what his teammates call him?

Uncanny, isn't it? :P

Back to cooking. I want to make Ouefs en Cocotte with Pecorino, cheddar and fresh basil, and grill burgers when AK gets back.

Okie enough rambling for now. Just had to spill out the nonsense in my head.

Break

It's the Raya break. I have four days to myself, including the weekend. Somehow it doesn't feel like much of a celebration, cos AK is offshore again and I wish we could at least go out for a good meal in town or something. Solo-ism sucks when you're in a happy relationship.